Chase Is Set...Kahne Is In, Stewart Is Out!

 

Kahne in, Stewart out
by Monte Dutton
Gazette Sports Writer

RICHMOND, Va. — Not all races are classics. This one wasn’t a Harlequin romance.

Kevin Harvick, the embodiment of Richard Childress Racing’s resurgence, boosted his chances at a championship with a victory in the final race of the regular season, Richmond International Raceway’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400.

It was an evening of events, not action. The driver who won wasn’t as newsworthy as the one who lost. Tony Stewart’s utter failure to defend his championship — he finished 18th, a lap behind — put the final nails in a mystifying collapse at the very point where, a year earlier, the champ had been at his best.

Third-place finisher Kasey Kahne was the beneficiary of Stewart’s collapse. He eked into the Chase, clearing the hapless Stewart by 16 points. There was virtually no competition between the two in the actual race. Afterward, Stewart had little to say.

Harvick, in a Chevrolet, passed another Chevy driver, Kyle Busch, on the next-to-last lap. He held Busch off by .154 of a second and enters the Chase third, 15 points behind Matt Kenseth and five behind Jimmie Johnson.

“I got into (Busch) once earlier,” said Harvick, “and I didn’t really want to pass him if I couldn’t do it clean. I passed him without even coming close to hitting him.”

“Our car was awesome,” said Busch, “and we should’ve won. We lost it on the final (actually next-to-last lap). more on who made the chase...